Nylanderia polita, Williams & Williams & Lapolla & Lucky, 2025

Williams, Jason L., Williams, John F., Lapolla, John S. & Lucky, Andrea, 2025, Nylanderia of the World, Part IV: Taxonomic contributions to the American Clade I of New World Nylanderia (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), Zootaxa 5569 (3), pp. 549-593 : 582-584

Nylanderia polita , sp. nov.

Figs. 57–59 (worker); Figs. 60–61 (queen)

Holotype worker, MEXICO: Veracruz, 8km WSW of Xalapa, 19.52081 -96.9917 ±20m, elev. 1530m, cloud forest, leaf litter (MiniWinkler), 22.vi.2016, ADMAC#Wa-F-05-1-41 ( USNM: USNMENT01131180 ); 4 paratype workers with same locality data as holotype ( USNM: USNMENT01131313 , USNMENT01131314 ; MNCR: USNMENT01131315 , USNMENT01131316 ). 1 paratype queen, MEXICO: Veracruz, 8km WSW of Xalapa, 19.52283 -96.99102 ±20m, elev. 1500m, cloud forest, leaf litter (MiniWinkler), 22.vi.2016, ADMAC#Wa-F-05-2-31 ( USNM: USNMENT01131789 ).

Worker diagnosis: Antennae relatively short, with scapes surpassing posterior margin of head by about a third of their length; medium to dark brown with antennae, mandibles, leg joints, and tarsi yellow in contrast to body; meso-and metacoxae somewhat lighter than mesosoma; entire cuticle smooth and shiny, with microsculpture, and completely lacking blue iridescence; dense cephalic pubescence; posterior margin of head with little to no emargination.

Compare with: N. austroccidua , N. contraria

WORKER. Measurements (n=10): TL: 1.81–2.13; EL: 0.09–0.12; EW: 0.08–0.10; IOD: 0.29–0.32; HE: 0.01; HL: 0.52–0.58; HW: 0.44–0.49; HLA: 0.18–0.20; HLP: 0.26–0.28; SL: 0.31–0.35; PW: 0.31–0.35; MW: 0.17–0.20; PrW: 0.24–0.32; PDH: 0.17–0.22; PTW: 0.09–0.16; LHT: 0.49–0.53; WL: 0.59–0.68; GL: 0.64–0.94; SMC: 7–10; PMC: 2–3; MMC: 2. Indices: BLI: 130–149; CI: 79–86; EPI: 67–72; HTI: 109–116; REL: 18–22; SI: 122–129.

Color: medium to dark brown with yellow to yellow-brown antennae, mandibles, and tarsi; meso- and metacoxae often somewhat lighter than mesosoma but sometimes concolorous; overall cuticle smooth and shiny, with no cuticular microsculpture and no blue iridescence Pilosity: dense cephalic pubescence covering all surfaces of head in full-face view; mesosoma pubescence sparse to absent, limited at most to scattered hairs on pronotum and propodeum, and a fringe of hairs concentrated just posterior to the metanotal groove; gaster pubescence sparse to absent; pair of small, erect setae on apex of petiole. Head: longer than broad and quadrate with distinct posterolateral corners and flattened posterior margin, with little to no medial emargination; scapes surpass posterior margin of head by about a third of their length; median ocellus small, but often apparent; lateral ocelli absent or not apparent. Mesosoma: posterior margin of pronotum forming obtuse angle with anterior margin of mesonotum in profile view; propodeum evenly rounded with dorsal face about as long as posterior face.

QUEEN. Measurements (n=1): TL: 3.19; EL: 0.16; HL: 0.64; HW: 0.61; SL: 0.63; WL: 1.02; GL: 1.53. Indices: BLI: 160; CI: 96; REL: 25; SI: 102.

Moderately sized. Color: medium to dark brown, with meso- and metacoxae lighter than mesosoma. Pilosity: most of body covered in moderate to dense pubescence; lacking pubescence on posterior face of propodeum; 1-2 small, erect setae on anepisternum.

Other material examined: MEXICO: Veracruz, Las Cañadas , 19.1906 -96.99055 ± 60m, 1390m, 1.vii.2016, montane wet forest, baiting, ADMAC#Ba-F-07-1-04-11; Veracruz, 8km WSW Xalapa , 19.52177 -96.99121 ± 20m, elev. 1500m, 22.vi.2016, cloud forest, sifted litter, ADMAC#Wa-F-05-1-09; Veracruz, 8km WSW Xalapa , 19.52165 -96.99137 ± 20m, elev. 1510m, 22.vi.2016, cloud forest, sifted litter, ADMAC#Wa-F-05-1-13; Veracruz, 8km WSW Xalapa , 19.52181 -96.9906 ± 20m, elev. 1500m, 22.vi.2016, cloud forest, sifted litter, ADMAC#Wa-F-05- 2-07; Veracruz, 8km WSW Xalapa , 19.52275 -96.99098 ± 20m, elev. 1500m, 22.vi.2016, cloud forest, sifted litter, ADMAC#Wa-F-05-2-29; Veracruz, 8km WSW Xalapa , 19.52283 -96.99102 ± 20m, elev. 1500m, 22.vi.2016, cloud forest, sifted litter, ADMAC#Wa-F-05-2-31; Veracruz, 8km WSW Xalapa , 19.5236 -96.99123 ± 20m, elev. 1500m, 22.vi.2016, cloud forest, sifted litter, ADMAC#Wa-F-05-2-50.

Etymology: The species epithet is derived from ‘ politus ’ (L. = polished), referring to the smooth, shining appearance of the species’ cuticle.

Notes: Nylanderia polita workers most strongly resemble those of N. austroccidua and N. contraria but are easily separable from the latter two by their overall smooth cuticle with no microsculpture and complete lack of blue iridescence. Unlike N. austroccidua , this species has an evenly rounded propodeum with the posterior face about as long as the dorsal face in profile view. Unlike N. contraria , the meso- and metacoxae of N. polita are never whitish and at most only somewhat lighter in color than the mesosoma. The known range of this species is limited only to high elevation forests in Veracruz, Mexico ( Fig. 2B ).

Figures

FIGURE 2. Distributions of species: (A) N. austroccidua in the United States and northern Mexico, (B) species found across southern Mexico and Mesoamerica, and (C) N. docilis in South America. Maps were created using GPS coordinates listed in Table S1 and from the Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics (GABI; Guénard et al. 2017) database.

FIGURES 57–59. Nylanderia polita holotype worker (USNMENT01131180). Lateral, full-face, and dorsal view of the body.

FIGURES 60–61. Nylanderia polita paratype queen (USNMENT01131789). Full-face and lateral view of the body.